Skip to main content

Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Mexican, b. 1936

The sculptor and painter Pedro Friedeberg works in a richly detailed, Surrealist and eccentric artistic style that blends influences from neoclassical art, M.C. Escher and native Mesoamerican symbolism. He is best known for his Hand chair — a functional sculpture that is an icon of design-as-art.

Friedeberg was born in Florence to German parents and moved with his mother to Mexico at the outset of World War II. As a university student in Mexico City in the 1950s, he initially studied architecture, but his designs for fantastical buildings ran afoul of his rationalist, Bauhaus-oriented teachers.

By chance, Friedeberg’s drawings came to the attention of Mathias Goeritz, the German-born Dadaist painter and sculptor. He encouraged Friedeberg and made him a protégé. Friedeberg credits his mentor for instilling in him a fanatical attention to detail in his work. Friedeberg produced his first Hand chair in 1961, and has since created numerous iterations. He has also made several variants using other human limbs in different functional forms such as tables and clocks.

While Friedeberg’s sculptures have a gentle character that is sometimes described as spiritual, his paintings and prints are something entirely different. He employs deep perspective to create hypnotic, painstakingly rendered canvases that suggest rooms and cityscapes.

Whatever the medium, Friedeberg’s work is arresting and instantly recognizable. The Hand chair, though familiar, remains a captivating piece — both furniture and artwork — that stands apart in any interior. Examples are often priced between $20,000 and $30,000, depending on formal variations (such as a foot-shaped pedestal), material and condition. Smaller functional items such as tabletop clocks bring about $9,000. His paintings and drawings require space; they are meant to be contemplated. Prices on original examples start at about $30,000; prints generally sell in the region of $900.

As you will see on 1stDibs, the art and design of Pedro Friedeberg is singular and memorable.

to
1
4
3
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
4
3
6
5
5
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
3
4
3
77
419
255
177
137
6
5
4
4
2
Artist: Pedro Friedeberg
"Mano" - Mini version of Hand Chair by Friedeberg, sculpture, colored, black
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Ciudad de México, MX
A new and exclusive version of the world-famous Hand Chair created in collaboration with Pedro Friedeberg's studio.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Silver

"Mano" - Mini version of Hand Chair by Friedeberg, sculpture, tiffany
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Ciudad de México, MX
A new and exclusive version of the world-famous Hand Chair created in collaboration with Pedro Friedeberg's studio.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Silver

Hand Sculpture with Two Thumbs
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Original Pedro Friedeberg Hand Sculpture with Two Thumbs sculpture.
Category

2010s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

BANCA ZIGURATICA NINIVESCA DE 3 PLAZAS (SCULPTURE)
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Aventura, FL
Wood sculpture with gold color trim. Hand signed and numbered on the underside by the artist. From the edition of 4. Certificate of Authenticity is included. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered. About the Artist: Pedro Friedeberg is a contemporary Mexican artist...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Pair of Hand Chairs in black
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Pedro Friedeberg Gold Hand Chair. Gold leaf over wood. Signed inside the base. Includes certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. Available as...
Category

1960s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Gold Hand Chair
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Pedro Friedeberg Gold Hand Chair. Gold leaf over wood. Signed inside the base. Includes certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. Available a...
Category

1960s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Butterfly Chair
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Pedro Friedeberg Butterfly Chair. Gold leaf, Ink and acrylic over wood. Signed by the artist. Includes certificate of authenticity.
Category

1960s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Related Items
SIDNEY POITIER: Hollywood Trailblazer Prince! Orig.Swarovski Skull+Base+Crown
By Mauro Oliveira
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
**ANNUAL SUPER SALE TIL JUNE 15th ONLY** *This Price Won't Be Repeated Again This Year - Take Advantage Of It* ***Looking for one of kind precious high ending gift that no one else will have? This is one of them!*** Absolutely and positively ONE OF A KIND skull encrusted with genuine Swarovski and Czech crystals. This is one of the best and most unique super gift for this year. The ultimate homage to the one and only Sidney Poitier...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Blown Away 1000% Bearbrick-White Rainbow
Located in New York, NY
Super cool sculpture with fluid style. About the artist: Los Angeles based artist Josh Mayhem gained recognition with his Blown Away aesthetic, transforming designer toys and ic...
Category

2010s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Metal

EVITA: QUEEN OF ARGENTINA (One of a Kind Swarovski Skull w/ Custom Base + Crown)
By Mauro Oliveira
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
**ANNUAL SUPER SALE UNTIL JUNE 15TH ONLY** THIS PRICE WON'T BE REPEATED AGAIN THIS YEAR - TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT** ***Looking for one of kind precious high ending art piece that no one else will have? This is one of them!*** Absolutely and positively ONE OF A KIND skull creation encrusted with genuine Swarovski and Czech crystals. The ultimate homage to Evita Peron...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Bronze

Reinhoud dHaese Sculpture Mythical Figure Copper & Stone
Located in Detroit, MI
SALE ONE WEEK ONLY This work by Reinhoud d'Haese is a magnificent hammered copper figure on a natural stone base. This mythical creature, large and corpulent, invites a caress of it...
Category

1960s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Stone, Copper

Do Not Touch
By Javier Calleja
Located in Palo Alto, CA
Created in 2020, this painted resin and steel multiple with accompanying acrylic painting on canvas with original wood crate is signed by Javier Calleja (Spain, 1978 - ) in black ink...
Category

2010s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Do Not Touch
Do Not Touch
H 14.13 in W 7.13 in D 7.88 in
DO NOT TOUCH (MULTICOLOR)
By Javier Calleja
Located in Aventura, FL
Sculpture made of resin, steel, string and acrylic paint. Original box included. Hand signed and numbered on canvas verso. Certificate of authenticity included. From the edition of ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Steel

DO NOT TOUCH (GREY)
By Javier Calleja
Located in Aventura, FL
Sculpture made of resin, steel, string and acrylic paint. Original box included. Hand signed and numbered on canvas verso. Certificate of authenticity included. From the edition of ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Steel

DO NOT TOUCH (GREY)
DO NOT TOUCH (GREY)
H 14.5 in W 7.5 in D 8.7 in
Woman Aflame Salvador Dali 1980
By Salvador Dalí­
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Salvador Dali Femme En FLamme Woman Aflame Artist signed in the mold, edition 141/350 Edition of 350 + 35AP stamped 'Venturi Arte' and Camblest execute...
Category

1980s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Alexander the Great Sculpture II /// Contemporary Street Pop Art Joker Bust Head
By Jack Graves III
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Jack Graves III (American, 1988-) Title: "Alexander the Great Sculpture II" Series: Sculpture *Signed, titled, and dated by Grav...
Category

2010s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Cast Stone

Boar Mount
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Nicholas Crombach is interested in the complex interactions between humans and animals. Using sporting and hunting as markers of longstanding traditions of both adversarial and collaborative relationships between humans and animals, Crombach examines the cultural significance and the complex issues percolating domestication and domination, play and survival in the 21st century. Crombach combines references to mythology via a striking aesthetic, creating works which revel in their contradictions and contrasts. Notably, the artist draws from the myth of Diana and Actaeon, which provides a poignant framework for this new series. In Ovid’s tale Actaeon, a hunter and grandson of King Cadmus, is in the forest with his dogs when he spies Artemis (Diana), the venerated goddess of the hunt, in her bath attended by her nymphs. Diana’s nymphs try to cover her modesty as the goddess feels violated by Actaoen’s brash curiosity. Diana splashes water upon Actaeon, robbing him from his ability to speak and turning him from a mortal man into a stag who flees into the forest only to be hunted down and killed by his own dogs. The hunter becomes the hunted. Crombach’s Fetch (2018) refers to the mythology of Diana and Actaeon in its last tragic hour, but the classical story of metamorphoses is presented as a game of fetch in the local park. Crombach creates a hybrid between the art historical imagery from paintings of hounds...
Category

2010s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Nylon, Resin, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Boar Mount
Boar Mount
H 24 in W 24 in D 27 in
Jackson Pollock Bearbrick 400% figure (Jackson Pollock BE@RBRICK)
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Jackson Pollock 400% & 100% Bearbrick Vinyl Figure (set of 2): A rare highly collectible Bearbrick Jackson Pollock statue piece, splattered from head to toe in Pollock’s signature art; includes a recreation of the artist’s signature located on the verso along with a trademarked stamp from the Estate of Pollock-Krasner. New and housed in its original collector’s box. Medium: Vinyl Figurine. Year: 2020. Dimensions of larger figurine: 11 x 5 inches. Condition: New in its original packaging. Published by Medicom from a sold out limited series of unknown. Further Background BE@RBRICKs are a form of collectible toy that resemble a cross between LEGO and well, a bear. These block-style figurines boast teddy bear-style heads that have become an integral pillar of the collectible toy scene. In fact, it wouldn’t be so far-fetched to say that it almost single-handedly carved out the fad of toy collecting in modern times, treading the very fine line between toy and art. Since its inception, BE@RBRICKs have become one of the most recognizable characters in the world, and some of the most sought after. Jackson Pollock was one of the most famous Post-War American artists. A pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, Pollock’s drip paintings ushered in a new era of non-representational art. “It doesn't make much difference how the paint is put on as long as something has been said,” he once remarked. “Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement.” Born Paul Jackson Pollock on January 28, 1912 in Cody, WY, he studied painting at the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles during the late 1920s, where he befriended Philip Guston. In the fall of 1930, Pollock moved to New York where he studied under the Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League. Joining the WPA in 1937, Pollock painted murals around the country in a style reminiscent both of Benton and the Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco. After the WPA program ended, Pollock took on a number of odd jobs and began producing Surrealist works related to those of Joan Miró. An early champion of his work, Peggy Guggenheim hosted Pollock’s first solo show at her gallery Art of This Century in 1943. The paintings that emerged from his Long Island studio during the late 1940s came to exemplify his entire career. Works such as Blue Poles (1952), generated enormous media attention, and turned Pollock into a celebrity beyond the scope of the art world. At the age of 44, his celebrated career was cut short when the artist died in a car accident involving his mistress Ruth...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Resin, Vinyl

Apollo Sculpture /// Contemporary Classics Mythology Head Painted Colorful Art
By Jack Graves III
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Jack Graves III (American, 1988-) Title: "Apollo Sculpture" Series: Sculpture *Signed, titled, and dated by Graves on bottom Year: 2022 Mediu...
Category

2010s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Cast Stone, Marble

Previously Available Items
Handchair
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Ciudad de México, MX
This piece is one of the most emblematic and well none pieces of the artist. The design of this piece is 1962, it was inicially a joke with another artist and was either recognise by...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Linen, Oil

Handchair
Handchair
H 18.5 in W 9.05 in D 9.05 in
FRUTERO TRIPIE (SCULPTURE)
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand painted wood sculpture. Hand signed on the underside by the artist. Edition of 2. Certificate of Authenticity is included. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Hand Sculpture with Two Thumbs 13.5" in Silver Leaf
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Original Pedro Friedeberg Hand Sculpture with Two Thumbs sculpture.
Category

2010s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Silver

Avioneta Angelical
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Pedro Friedeberg original sculpture "Avioneta Angelical". Signed by the artist. Includes certificate of authenticity.
Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Avioneta Angelical
Avioneta Angelical
H 7.88 in W 15.75 in D 24.41 in
Pair of Hand Chairs in black
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Pedro Friedeberg Gold Hand Chair. Gold leaf over wood. Signed inside the base. Includes certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. Available as...
Category

1960s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Pair of Hand Chairs in black
Pair of Hand Chairs in black
H 35.44 in W 18.12 in D 19.69 in
SILLA DE GOBERNATE CUADRO (SCULPTURE)
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Aventura, FL
Wood sculpture with gold color trim. Hand signed and numbered on the underside by the artist. PA (artist proof) edition. Certificate of Authenticity is included. Artwork is in e...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Wood

SILLA DE REGLA TRIANGULO (SCULPTURE)
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Aventura, FL
Wood sculpture with gold color trim. Hand signed and numbered on the underside by the artist. PA (artist proof) edition. Certificate of Authenticity is included. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered. About the Artist: Pedro Friedeberg is a contemporary Mexican artist...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Wood

SILLA DE PIE Y MANO (LARGE)
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Aventura, FL
Carved wood sculpture. Engraved artist signature on the underside. Certificate of Authenticity is included. Please do not hesitate to ask us any further questions. All reasonable ...
Category

1970s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Wood

SILLA POLICROMADA (SCULPTURE)
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in Aventura, FL
Bronze sculpture. Engraved artist signature and edition on the underside. From the edition of 8. Certificate of Authenticity is included. Please do not hesitate to ask us any fu...
Category

2010s Contemporary Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Dog on Wheels with Windmill
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Original Pedro Friedeberg sculpture. Signed by the artist.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Hand Sculpture with Two Thumbs
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Original Pedro Friedeberg Hand Sculpture with Two Thumbs sculpture.
Category

2010s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Gold Hand Chair
By Pedro Friedeberg
Located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
Pedro Friedeberg Gold Hand Chair. Gold leaf over wood. Signed inside the base. Includes certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. Available as...
Category

1960s Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Gold Hand Chair
Gold Hand Chair
H 35.44 in W 18.12 in D 19.69 in

Pedro Friedeberg sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Pedro Friedeberg sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Pedro Friedeberg in wood, gold leaf, gold and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Pedro Friedeberg sculptures, so small editions measuring 6 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Felipe Castañeda, Igael Tumarkin, and Alejandro Santiago. Pedro Friedeberg sculptures prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,450 and tops out at $50,000, while the average work can sell for $7,200.

Recently Viewed

View All